Having considerably furthered ties with the United States (The Senate on Thursday passed a legislation that will enable the Indo-US nuclear deal), the Manmohan Singh government will look to boost ties with another global giant and neighbour China, as President Hu Jintao arrives on a historic visit to India on Monday.

During the visit, the two Asian giants are also expected to explore the possibility of signing an agreement on the establishment of a key Regional Trade Arrangement.

Ahead of President Hu's visit, rediff.com gives you his detailed itinerary.

President Hu and First Lady Lin Yougqing will arrive at 1830 IST, November 20.

The visit is expected to be very formal and without any non-political or off-beat events. The two will visit New Delhi, Agra and Mumbai and attend only a few events.

President Hu, who will reach the Taj Hotel, New Delhi, by 1910 IST, hasn't kept any engagement on the day of his arrival. He will have his dinner in his suite in Taj.

On Tuesday, however, Hu's schedule begins at 1000 IST.

His first engagement will, obviously, be at the Rashtrapati Bhavan, where President Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will receive him. He will be accorded a 21-gun salute, which will be followed by a symbolic presentation of arms.

After the formal welcome, he is expected to have a brief interaction with the media.

From Rashtrapati Bhavan, he will be driven to Rajghat, Mahatma Gandhi's samadhi.

Here, he will be joined by his wife. At Rajghat, Hu and Lin Yougqing will observe a minute's silence in the Mahatma's honour. After that, Lin will go off to visit the National Museum and Qutub Minar.

President Hu's next meeting will be the most important during the visit.

At the Hyderabad House, at 1100 IST, the heads of world's two most populous nations with a glorious past, buoyant economy and fantastic future will meet, while the world watches.

The meeting will be held in the Deccan Suite of the Hyderabad House. This will be followed by the delegation level talks.

Then, a few agreements will be signed in the Moghul Room. A press conference will follow where the media will struggle to get some quotable quotes from the two normally reticent speakers.

Since President Hu is the first Chinese premier to visit India in 10 years, it's imperative that this part of his tour goes off well for both sides. Dr Singh will then host lunch for the President at 1300 IST.

The President will then return to the Taj to keep his appointment with Lok Sabha Speaker and Communist leader Somnath Chaterjee in the Longchamp Hall.

At the same place, President Hu will also meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi at 1545 IST. Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat will also interact with him.

Later, President Hu will meet Chinese and Indian youth delegations at the hotel's Diwan-i-Aam Hall.

He will later participate in a function to commemorate the China-India friendship year.

At 1930 IST, the President will reach Rashtrapati Bhavan for dinner.

Before the dinner, he will meet President Kalam for 30 minutes.

The banquet hosted by President Kalam will start at 2000 IST. Before retiring to his hotel, the two presidents will have a chat at the North Drawing room of Rashtrapati Bhavan.

On Wednesday, the President's day will begin at 0900 IST, with a meeting with Communist leaders. President Hu will also meet the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Lal Kishenchand Advani.

Though the President will not address a joint session of the Parliament as the Left parties wished, he will give a keynote address at 10 am at the Vigyan Bhavan.

The political part of the President's visit will end here.

At 1115 IST, he will leave for Agra with his wife to see the Taj Mahal. He will be stay at the Mogul Sheraton in Agra.

After lunch, he will visit the Taj Mahal at 1515 IST. An hour after that, he will leave for the airport and reach Mumbai at 1850 IST.

In Mumbai too, the President will stay at the Taj Hotel. His fourth and last day in India will start with a meeting with the relatives of Dr Dwarkanath Kotnis, who served in China in the 1930s when Japan invaded China.

At 1000 IST, he will attend the China-India Trade and Investment Summit.

From there, the President will go to the Sahayadri State guesthouse, where Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh will host lunch. The President will leave Mumbai at 1315 IST for Islamabad, Pakistan.